Accompaniment control for player-pianos



"R. s. SMI TH. ACCOMPANIMENT comm FOR PLAYER muos AP LlCATION FILED APE-1.16, 191 9- 1 3 2 749 Patented June 28, 1921..

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I INVENTOR TcgyASYJm z'f z UNITED STATES PATENT; OFFICE.

RAY S. SMITH, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

Acoomrnmivmnr CONTROL FOR PLAYER-PIANOS.

Application filed April 16, 1919.' Serial No. 290,366.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAY S. SMITH, citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda, State of California, have invented a new and useful Accompaniment Control for Player-Pianos, of which thefollowing is a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same. i

This invention relates to an accompaniment control for player pianos, and its object is to produce an apparatus which will be capable of modifying the accompaniment as maybe necessary to bring out the proper tone color by regulating the stroke of the hammers which produce the accompaniment, thereby softening the subordinate part of the music, which is second to the 'melody, and which forms the musical background, while permitting the melody part of the music or tune to be brought out strongly.

Another object of the invention is to produce an apparatus which is capable of be.-

mg applied to or disassembled from any player piano with the least change in the parts making up the ordinary player piano, and which willpermit the player piano to be operated by hand precisely the same as any piano, this apparatus in no way changing or disorganizing the hand operated parts of the piano.

Another object of the invention is to produce a player piano attachment which will enable universal standard music rolls to be used without operating this apparatus, should that be desired, in which event the hammer rail will be operated precisely the same as in other player pianos. This is accomplished because the present invention does'not in any way affect the hammer rail upon the installation thereof.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

An embodiment ofthe invention is shown in the drawings in which the same reference numeral is applied to the same portion throughout, but I am aware that there may be modifications thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a piano having this invention applied thereto, a portion of the front of the piano case being broken away for purposes of illustration.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a piano hav ing this invention applied thereto, a portion of the case being broken away to show the piano action and anedge of one of the pngumatics for controlling the hammers, an

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of one of the pneumatics for shifting the hammers.

The numeral 1 indicates a piano case of the ordinary form which has the usual keys as indicated at 2, as well as the usual foot pedals 3, 4, one of which operates the hammer rails 5, 5 to soften the action of the hammers 6.

At the back of the piano case, there is the usual pin block 7, and frame 7 supporting the sounding board 8 and strings 9, all of which construction is old in the art of hand played pianos, and forms no part of the present invention.

The player piano proper is operated by means of the foot pedals 10 and ll which are connected with suitable mechanism for the operation of the hammers and other parts of the piano, their movement being controlled by a sheet of perforated music passing over the tracker bar 12. The foot pedals 10 and 11 are connected with suitable mechanism which maintains a vaccum with- .in the vacuum box 13, within the piano case,

and which vacuum box is connected with the player piano mechanism for the operation of the hammers from the tracker bar.

The present invention consists of a bar 15 which is rigidly secured in place within the case of the piano by means of three brackets 16, 17 and 18 in a position just above and in front of the upper end of all of the strings. This bar is detachably connected with the piano frame so that when the piano is to be tuned, it may be removed therefrom should that be necessary in any particular instance to operate the string tuning pins. This bar carries a plurality of pneumatics 19 each of which is provided with a suitable valve box 20 for the operation of an arm 21. This arm 21 has a bar 22 secured thereto to pull forward any desired set of hammers, thereby softening the striking effect of those particular hammers. Each of the pneumatics is provided with a tube 23 which extends to the tracker bar 12 and is connected with certain of the end openings therein. The pneumatics 19 are each provided with a base 19, bellows 19 and donble valve 2 which valve has a disk 20 operating in a cup 20 to open the bellows to the valve box or to the air as the disk 2O may determine. A spring 20 normally holds the valve in the position shown in Fig. 3 when the vacuum in the tubes 23 is unbroken. Each valve box is also connected by means of a tube 24 with a tube 25 which extends to the vacuum box 13. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that whenever the vacuum in the tube 23 is broken by means of the perforations in the paper passing over one of the holes in the tracker bar, that the pneumatic connected with that tube will be collapsed. The effect of this will be to move forward a certain set of hammers and thereby soften the notes produced when those hammers are operated. In the present instance, the pueumatics at both ends of the set of hammers are made to' operate a considerable number of hammers, while those at the center of the set of hammers are made to operate only three hammers, thereby making possible a more complete control of the music produced by the strings at the center of the key board where most of the playing takes place.

It will be observed that it is necessary to have the music rolls passing over the tracker bar 12 so perforated that when the accompaniment is to be played that the corresponding hammers will be advanced toward the strings, thereby softening the accompaniment, and at the same time permitting the melody to be brought out strongly. Any suitable form of pneumatic may be used for the operation of the hammers.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows, express reservation being made of permissible modifications.

1. An attachment for player pianos having the usual strings and hammer system consisting of a bar extending along the strings in front of them at their upper ends, brackets for securing said bar in position, a plurality of pneumatics supported by said bar, an operating arm carried by each pneumatic and extending to a position adjacent the several hammers, an arm near the center of the scale covering a few hammers while the arms at the upper ends of the scale cover a larger number of hammers, a tracker board and means operated by the tracker board and pneumatics to vary the position of the pneumatic arms to diminish the striking blow of certain sets of hammers.

2. An attachment for player pianos having the usual strings and hammer system consisting of a bar extending along the upper ends of the strings adjacent the same, brackets secured to the piano frame and supporting said bar at several places, pneumatics earried by the said bar each pneumatic having a depending arm adapted to contact with a plurality of the piano hammers, the arms near the outer ends of the scale covering the larger number of hammers than arms near the center of the scale, a tracker board and means cooperating therewith to operate one or more of the pneumatics to decrease the striking blow of any desired set of hammers, a pair of brackets and pneumatics being detachable from the piano as a single unit.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of April, A. D. 1919.

RAY S. SMITH. 

